Insurrection
by Nerd Incognito
Summary: Zuko and Iroh have been forced to start a new life in Ba Sing Se, but how long can they maintain their new quiet existence as humble tea servants before their past comes back to find them?
1. Chapter 1

**Insurrection**  
_By Nerd Incognito _

**Summary**: Zuko and Iroh have been forced to start a new life in Ba Sing Se, but how long can they maintain their new quiet existence as humble tea servants before their past comes back to find them?

**Disclaimers:** You know the deal, I own nothing. Well, not nothing, but nothing to do with Avatar.

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The tea shop was busier than usual. Another large transport of refugees had just arrived into Ba Sing Se. Anxious to start their new lives in Ba Sing Se, the newcomers converge on the lower level of the city flooding into every corner and every shop creating nonstop crowds for several days after their arrival.

Zuko always hated it when this happened. Not because of the extra work, he had no problem with hard work, but because he never knew who might be arriving, who just might recognize the banished fire prince. He tried to be very careful, being as unobtrusive as possible. He served the patrons in the tea shop almost as he was a ghost, gliding about the room as silently as possible, never making eye contact and never speaking. But it was hard to be inconspicuous when a good portion of your face was covered by a very distinguishing scar.

That scar. How he hated it so. It was an ugly red brand for the whole world to see. A physical manifestation of his shame. A constant reminder of his failure and subsequent banishment. Of his father's hatred for him. And worst of all, at least for now, was its distinctiveness. You can forget a single face in a sea of faces, but not that scar. That scar screamed out for recognition. Anyone who saw it and knew of Zuko would instantly recognize him.

So as the crowds waxed and waned throughout the day, Zuko did his best to keep his head down and stay out of sight. Not that his uncle was making that and easy thing to accomplish. No, Iroh had embraced their new station in life and was trying to force his young nephew to do the same.

It was completely unfathomable to Zuko that his uncle could smile, joke and carry on in Ba Sing Se as if he wasn't the city's most legendary villain. The greatest tea service in the world could not save Iroh from the wrath of the citizens if they ever discovered he was Iroh, Dragon of the West, instead of simply Mushie, the tea maker. The possibility made Zuko ill.

He would never admit it aloud, but his years in exile had brought him immensely close to his uncle and he couldn't imagine losing him now. Especially since it would be his fault. Yes, Iroh was quite safe in the fact that no one would ever consider for a second that this giddy old man could be the famed fire nation general. If they discovered, it would because they recognized Zuko and made the connection to who his uncle was. He couldn't let that happen.

And it wasn't just the crowds that we making him nervous today, but a feeling. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched throughout the day. He had done his best to carefully scope the room to catch who might be watching him, but could never pinpoint the source. And when he shared his unease with his uncle, Iroh did a quick scan of the room and told his nephew that he was being paranoid. But not before he pointed out several teenaged girls among the customers.

"Must be one of those lovely young ladies trying to catch your eye, nephew," said Iroh with a chuckle as he sipped from his own cup of tea.

Zuko, less than amused, scowled and stormed into the back room where he vowed to remain until closing time, which, couldn't come soon enough in his opinion. In a few days, the newcomers would get into their own schedules, the crowds would die down and Zuko could be less on guard until the next transport's arrival.

Finally, closing time came and Zuko emerged from the back where he had been doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen for the past hour and a half. His uncle was already engaged in cleaning up the dining room while loudly humming a cheery tune to himself. Without a word, Zuko proceeded to help by removing discarded trash from tables.

Zuko was lost in his own thoughts, reviewing the day and trying to again determine where the feeling of being watched could have come from. Perhaps his uncle had been right and it was just some silly girl making eyes at him. It wouldn't be the first time that he had gotten some notice in the shop. He had almost convinced himself that this must be the case when he noticed something strange on a table near the furthest corner of the dining room.

Sitting square in the middle of the table was a piece of paper folded in quarters to like a tent. Used to finding just crumpled up napkins left on tables at the end of the night, this piqued Zuko's curiosity. He slowly unfolded the paper to discover its contents.

As soon as he got the paper open, he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. His mouth fell open slightly as he gripped the paper so tightly he almost tore it in half. Shocked, he read the message contained inside a second time, to make sure he had not imagined it.

In a fine script in the center of the paper was written:

_ Lei:  
I know who you really are.  
Meet me at the western courtyard 2 hours after you close tonight._

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___Thank you for reading my first Avatar fan fiction. Please review. It makes me feel so very special inside. More to come soon.__ I have this story all mapped out and will try to finish it soon and keep posts pretty regular. Especially with good review.  
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	2. Chapter 2

_**Again with the disclaimer:** You know the deal, I own nothing. Well, not nothing, but nothing to do with Avatar. _

_And no, it is not Zutara. Haven't even decided if there will be any romance yet._

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Zuko couldn't believe his eyes. His fears of discovery had been realized.

But what to do about it now? Should they run? The thought of running in the night like a coward sickened the young prince. It was bad enough he had been forced to hide himself as a refugee in this Earth city, but to flat out flee was far more than he could stomach.

Should he tell his uncle? Zuko stopped himself as he started to open his mouth to alert his uncle to the current situation and possible imminent capture. No. This was his problem to deal with. His fault and his to fix. Zuko had learned by now that he could rely on himself when necessary.

As he desperately racked his brain to come up with a solution he couldn't help but think something didn't quite add up. Why leave a note? Why warn me, he thought. Had this person merely wanted to, they could have quietly reported his true identity to the Ba Sing Se authorities who could have swept in and captured them in surprise. No, there was something more to this.

Either they were not 100 sure of his identity, or they wanted something from him. The only way to find out would be to meet with this person and find out exactly what they knew and what they wanted. Only then would Zuko be fully prepared to deal with the situation.

So it was decided. When he finished cleaning up the shop, he would sneak down to the western courtyard and stake out the place. Find this person before they found him and uncover their scheme.

And when he found out who this person was, well, then he would deal with them in anyway that he had to. He and his uncle had fought too hard already to have what little peace they had for it to be taken away by some stranger's plots for blackmail, revenge or worse. Zuko would see to that.

After an hour had passed, Zuko excused himself from the small room he shared with his uncle on the pretense that he need to take a walk to clear his head. Iroh nodded to his nephew and cheerily wished him a good night.

With a half an hour to spare before the meeting time, Zuko stealthily made his way to the western courtyard with two shining swords strapped to his back. Thankfully, the streets of Ba Sing Se were mostly empty after nightfall.

When Zuko arrived to the meeting place, he found it quiet and empty. He did his best to conceal himself along the outer edge of the courtyard. That way, he would see anyone arrive before they were able to see him. Assess the situation. Make out whether it was a trap.

He stood there for about 10 minutes surveying the area and surrounding streets when a girl of about 16 slowly made here way into the courtyard. She had long black hair pulled back from her face revealing dark grey eyes and was dressed in typical Earth kingdom fashion. She paced slowly around two small benches as she glanced about the courtyard.

Suddenly her eyes fell right to the spot where Zuko was hidden.

"Good evening," said the mysterious girl stepping towards the shadows. "I'm glad you decided to come."

A slight twinge of relief crept over him. Perhaps he had been mistaken about the danger and this was just a silly little girl attempting to know him.

Zuko took a tentative step forward, not wanting to bring himself completely into the light. After all, it could still be a trap he thought.

"Who are you? And what is it that you think you know about me," he challenged.

She sat down on one of the benches and spoke. "What I know is that you are Prince Zuko, heir of the Fire Lord. I know of your banishment from the Fire Kingdom, of you search for the Avatar and even how you received that scar you carry on your face. And I also know many other things that I would share with you if you would sit with me here."

He tensed up as she spoke those words. Dammit, he cursed to himself. Dammit.

So she did know. He realized it had to be a trap. She must have been charged with distracting him while others snuck up on him to capture him. He immediately studied the immediate area looking for anyone else who may be concealed in the shadows. Well, they weren't here yet so he still had a chance. He wouldn't be defeated by a mere girl. But first he had to learn more of her plot.

"No," he growled as he pulled out his twin blades. "What I would do is kill you where you stand. The only reason that I haven't yet is because I don't know if you have told anyone else about who I really am," he said coldly.

"Calm down, prince," she said with a small smile. "Please give me a moment to explain. I promise am no threat to you. You can trust me."

"How can you possibly expect me to trust you?" he snapped back. "How do I know you won't contact the authorities or haven't already for that matter?"

"Because," she said as she held up her hand, palm facing towards her. Suddenly, from the tips of each of her five fingers burst small but vibrant flames.

Zuko stepped back in shock. She was also a fire bender.

What Zuko didn't know was if her being a fire bender made the situation better, or worse.

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_Thanks again reading. Please review. It makes me feel so very special inside. More to come soon. I have this story all mapped out and will try to finish it soon and keep posts pretty regular. Especially with good reviews._


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